Page 6 of Waggs

Waggs had never experienced Willow as a mother, seeing AJ when he was sleeping and then only briefly. It was a role he knew she’d be fantastic at. Her natural caring was one of the things that drew everyone to her.

Waggs sat back to watch television with his nephew and was surprised when he cuddled into his side, laying his head on Waggs as he laughed as if he didn’t have a care in the world. Wrapping his arm around the child, he settled back and thought what an extraordinary day this had been.

It began with him settling his friend’s nerves as he married the woman he loved and ended with the woman he loved, and could never have, in his bed and his nephew cuddled up beside him. If anyone had asked him if this was a possibility, he’d have laughed his socks off, yet here he was.

He picked up his phone and read the text from Jack again that he had yet to respond to. Was everything okay? He didn’t know the answer to that. In this very moment, things were more than OK, but he knew it couldn’t last. Willow was in trouble, and he had a suspicion that it was big for her to have run halfway around the world to him.

The fact she’d run to him made him happy. That she’d think of him as her and AJ’s protector made him feel less of an asshole for the last five years. The fact she was in trouble did not.

He sent a reply to Jack that they were at the moment but that he might need a few days off, as he had a feeling something was going on with Willow that he might need to handle. He got a quick reply saying to take all the time he needed, and the Eidolon team was there if he needed them. Waggs knew that, he’d seen the team come together multiple times to help their own, but it was good to hear it nonetheless.

An hour later, he saw AJ yawn and figured it was probably late for him, the jet lag from the flight messing with the child’s body clock. “You ready for bed, little man?”

AJ nodded, and Waggs picked him up and carried him to the room he’d been in before. Placing him down, he wondered if they had any luggage anywhere.

“Did you and Mommy bring any bags or stuff with you, buddy?”

AJ lay down on his side with his hands under his face in a prayer position. “Yes, we did, but Mommy said we had to leave it ’cos the bad man was there, too.”

Waggs hand clenched as AJ confirmed some of his suspicions. “That’s okay. We can buy you some more clothes tomorrow. Would you like that? To go buy some new stuff?”

“Will we get some toys too?”

Waggs hid the grin as the child began to negotiate. “Perhaps a few.”

“Okay, we can do that, but who’ll look after Mommy? I don’t want the bad man to get her while I’m not here to protect her.”

Waggs ruffled the boy’s head. “I have some friends who can look after Mommy.”

“Okay.”

Waggs stood to go, and AJ sat up. “What about my story?”

Waggs blinked and looked around helplessly he didn’t have any children’s books. “I don’t have any books here.”

“What about the ones in your head? Mommy tells me the ones from her head sometimes.”

He sat back down feeling slightly panicked. “Okay, let’s see what I have in my head.”

Waggs began to tell AJ a story his mom used to tell him and Aaron when they were little. He hadn’t thought about it for years, but as he spoke, it all came back—the memory of him and Aaron sharing bunk beds even though they’d been offered their own rooms. In the end, his mom and dad had put bunks in both rooms, and they’d switched but had always stayed together, at least until they were teens and wanted a bit more space.

AJ was asleep long before Waggs finished the story about the two little monkeys. He switched the lamp off but left the door ajar, so the light from the landing gave a soft glow.

Walking to his own room, he saw Willow’s fever had spiked again. He tried to wake her to give her more medicine, but she was pretty out of it. He got her to sit long enough to swallow the fluid, and then set up a fan in the corner of the room to try and cool her heated skin. Waggs knew he wouldn’t sleep much for worrying about her, so he’d make himself comfortable in the armchair he had in his bedroom and stay there. Looking down, he stroked a hand over her hair. “What are you hiding, Willow, and why are bad men after you?”

Waggs knew the question wouldn’t be answered until she was well, and until then, he’d make sure nobody got near her or AJ. Securing his apartment, he logged into the Eidolon network and put his home online. After the shit happened with Lacey and Gunner, Will and Jack had wanted to protect the team. They’d fitted new security systems to each residence that they could switch online if there was the slightest threat. It sent a signal to the team and Lopez, who monitored it, that whoever went online wanted extra measures to be put in place for their safety.

He knew doing it would raise questions, but he’d rather answer the Spanish inquisition than risk Willow or AJ. Plugging in the thumb drive he noted it was password protected and smiled to himself when entered AJ’s birthday and it opened. He would need to have a word with her about that. His eyebrows drew together when he saw a list of dates and values, with what looked like vehicle registrations on it. The second page had details of girls’ names, with ages, physical descriptors, and a number.

He wondered what it meant and if it was the reason she’d come to him feeling so frightened, and she had been. He knew her far too well not to see the fear in her eyes. Whatever it was, he would fix it. He may not be able to help her in other ways but this he could do, and he would.

Chapter 3

Willow opened her eyes and confusion filled her as she rolled over and saw the dark green comforter and the pale grey walls. Sitting up fast, she grabbed her head as pain made her vision blur and nausea roiled in her belly.

“Easy, Wills.”

Willow turned, regretting the quick movement as her vision swam again and she held her head in her hands.